Excel as a treatment for BBA? Experiences?

[eeng168]

I used the Flourish Excel again and lost most of my riccia again. I didn't learn from the first time.

It all just turned white....

[rrguymon]

I ordered a 2 liter bottle today. I don't have bba but I got some fuzz and hair algae that is driving me nuts. I hope this will kill it for good. I remove as much as I can but it just keeps growing. If I miss a piece it spreads like wild fire. I will never be able to get it all. I I don't pick the hair algae out it it will cover every thing in just a couple days.

From reading the thread I think I have gleaned that most dose per the instuctions on water change day and then 2x to 2x on the other days?

[wantplantsnotwork]

Eeng, It all depends if you want to march off into battle. Me, if I lose a plant, and the others are doing GREAT, I just say to myself, that's not a plant for me!

I know this wont sail for people that have the manicured look, then your going to have to fight the battle, and find something that works for YOU.

But, as my handle implies, I am always looking for the easy way out. Looks great, less filling.

[eeng168]

Originally Posted by wantplantsnotwork

Eeng, It all depends if you want to march off into battle. Me, if I lose a plant, and the others are doing GREAT, I just say to myself, that's not a plant for me!

I know this wont sail for people that have the manicured look, then your going to have to fight the battle, and find something that works for YOU.

But, as my handle implies, I am always looking for the easy way out. Looks great, less filling.

I was just a little upset because the riccia was growing really nicely, had it trimmed nicely and tied and just overnight, half of it was gones because of the Excel. On top of that, the hair algae was pearling. too funny...

It grows back fast so I'll be ok..hahahaa...

but you're right...the rest of the tank is doing beautifully. My moneywort seems to grow about an inch every 2 days. I might eventually get rid of all the riccia and try H.C. or christmas moss...

take care...

[rrguymon]

Well My 2 liter bottle of excel came in. However, I don't have that much algae left to kill . I think I got a handle on it so I just hang on to the excel I guess. Looks like I might have wasted 30 bucks lol.

Rick

[DarkCobra]

Sorry to resurrect this thread yet again, but I just found it.

I have never used Excel as an algicide or otherwise, but I have used hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

It seems like Excel and H2O2 have a lot in common. Both act as broad-spectrum biocides. Both seem to work their way up the evolutionary ladder with increasing doses - algae, mosses/riccia and delicate plants, shrimp, most plants, most fish, everything.

With H2O2, it's common practice to squirt it directly on patches of algae with a syringe to maximize its effect there, while minimizing the impact on the rest of the tank.

So here's my stupid question. Has anyone tried squirting Excel directly on algae?

[m.lemay]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

Sorry to resurrect this thread yet again, but I just found it.

IMO it's always better to ressurect an old thread especially one as large as this with so much pertinent information. It keeps all the relevant info in one neat little package. So don't feel embarrassed about it.

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

I have never used Excel as an algicide or otherwise, but I have used hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

It seems like Excel and H2O2 have a lot in common. Both act as broad-spectrum biocides. Both seem to work their way up the evolutionary ladder with increasing doses - algae, mosses/riccia and delicate plants, shrimp, most plants, most fish, everything.

With H2O2, it's common practice to squirt it directly on patches of algae with a syringe to maximize its effect there, while minimizing the impact on the rest of the tank.

So here's my stupid question. Has anyone tried squirting Excel directly on algae?

I haven't tried that yet. I'm gonna give it a shot. I'm currently fighting some BBA on the rocks in my tank. If you're going to do a localized treatment, it's always best to shut off the filters for a while to allow the agent to contact the affected area for as long as possible. I don't see why it wouldn't work better than the broadcast method.

Marcel

[BSS]

Originally Posted by m.lemay

I haven't tried that yet. I'm gonna give it a shot. I'm currently fighting some BBA on the rocks in my tank. If you're going to do a localized treatment, it's always best to shut off the filters for a while to allow the agent to contact the affected area for as long as possible. I don't see why it wouldn't work better than the broadcast method.

I've not had the great success (only slow, limited help...not eradication) with this approach that many others seem to have (yet another case of my tank being 'different' ), but I've got exactly what Marcel describes now. I'll give this one a shot also!

Brian.

[A Hill]

i just found this thread... (?how did i miss it?) and bba is my main plant in my 10g tank atm ive been slowly battling it for months then i hear about excel! ive forgotten to buy it twice in the past two trips to the lfs.. 3 days.. so hopefully ill remember to get it my next trip

thanks for the info guys
fish newb

[JerseyScape]

very interesting and informative thread....this should be a sticky

[m.lemay]

I did the spot treatment on a few rocks. I used 50ml in my 75G and spot treated the rocks with a syringe with the filters off. The BBA turned red within 24hrs and then it turned gray. I have other rocks in the same tank that I did not spot treat as a sort of control. The BBA on the spot treated rocks definitely looks different than that of the untreated rocks. Only time will tell wether this is a better, more effective route to take.

PS: this is now a sticky.

Marcel

[DarkCobra]

Originally Posted by m.lemay

The BBA on the spot treated rocks definitely looks different than that of the untreated rocks.

That is great news! If other people can duplicate these results, perhaps this will be a safer method of using Excel to treat algae, for people who have plants sensitive to Excel overdoses.

[zelmo]

The only problem with this thread is that because it is so long it is difficult to check to see if something has already been posted.

Sorry if this is redundant. Here is the link to Seachem's FAQ on Excel.

http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/...Excel_faq.html

[m.lemay]

Originally Posted by zelmo

The only problem with this thread is that because it is so long it is difficult to check to see if something has already been posted.

Sorry if this is redundant. Here is the link to Seachem's FAQ on Excel.

http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/...Excel_faq.html

Yeah but all the info is in one place, which beats looking thru 10 different threads for answers.

[m.lemay]

The excel spot treatment is working better than anything I've tried so far.

I've used the excel overdose treatment before but it took a long time to see results. 2 weeks usually. It never quite got rid of the some of the stubborn spots.

The nice thing about the spot treatment is that I can focus excel contact on the worse affected areas with the secondary benefit of being able to leave the excel in the water column as an overdose treatment. Unlike The Hydrogen peroxide treatment, excel can be left in the tank to continue performing it's magic.

BBA is totally gone on the rocks that I spot treated. The rocks that I have not spot treated still have lots of BBA on them. This is all in the same 75g tank. This is exciting stuff.

So heres what I do:

I take 50ml of excel and put it into a cup. (that equals approx 6.6ml/10gals)
which is what I'v used in the pasdt for the overdose treatment.

Shut down the filters to minimize circulation for improved contact time.

Next I take a medicine syringe and draw from the cup and proceed to infuse the affected areas with excel. I try to get it right into the rock as much as possible so some of it might get absorbed into the rock. I treat only as much as I can get done with the 50ml in one treatment.

Leave the filters off for a few minutes after treatment, then turn them back on.

If I need to do more I'll have to wait till the next day so as not to kill any fish.

I'm simply amazed at how effective this method works.

I'm gonna try to get some pictures up so that you guys can see the difference between the spot treated areas and the non spot treated areas...It's astounding.

Marcel